


1:30

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Flyboys, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Star Wars Rare Pairs Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-22 20:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8299861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Today's the day Luke is determined to thread the Stone Needle at Beggar's Canyon.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [karyatid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/karyatid/gifts).



> Written as a treat for karyatid, who linked to the [deleted scenes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f00IkrWvur4) and made me ship it, too.

When Luke gets home, he's going to be in huge trouble. He took the T-16 without asking. He made the modifications to the engine Uncle Owen told him in very clear terms he wasn't to do. He's out in Beggar's Canyon, against another express order. He can hear his uncle's voice now, the same voice that will nag as his conscience for the rest of his life: _I'm only trying to keep you safe, boy. If anything happened to you, you know it would break your aunt's heart._ He's in for a lecture, and he'll find himself grounded for weeks.

He won't get hurt, though. He won't crash the skyhopper, or get picked off by a sandperson's rifle. He knows in his bones that today is the day he's going to thread the Needle.

"You ready?" Biggs asks. He's got that smile, the one that makes Luke's stomach tighten up. Biggs will go off to the Academy, and Luke won't get any more smiles for a long, long time. It's today, or never.

"Never" is much worse than "weeks."

"Ready." He checks the controls one more time. The ion engine hums behind him, warm and ready. Biggs has taken the second jump seat, the one Luke installed for just this reason. There's not enough room in here for two but he wouldn't miss this chance for anything. He can feel his friend's anticipation rolling off him in waves. The cockpit is heavy with the pleasant smell of that new cologne Biggs has been wearing ever since he got his acceptance papers into the Academy, the same one Luke has been wanting to pick up for himself ever since.

"Three. Two. One." A hand presses against Luke's shoulder as Biggs shouts, "Go!" Luke slams the accelerator. The inertials take half a second to engage, one of Luke's own modifications. Biggs always teases him he'll end up smashed on the back wall of his own ship one of these days. Luke's sure the gravity rush of sudden speed is worth that risk every time.

They're off, darting like jackcrickets from corner to corner down the knife-thin passage between the canyon walls. Luke knows this route by heart, knows it blind. He makes each turn without thinking, just reacting to the sudden walls in his face like so many guideposts.

Beside him, he hears Biggs panting, the big hero nervous at the high speed dodging. Just knowing he's there and scared encourages Luke to rev the engine harder, squeeze out a little more speed.

Seconds tick by on the chronometer. Forty-eight. Forty-nine. At fifty-three seconds, the Stone Needle comes into view, vanishing again as they turn. The whipcrack movement of the ship jostles them together.

"You sure about this?" Biggs doesn't sound sure. He sounds like he's worried they'll paint themselves in a thin splash against the side of the canyon wall.

"Easy."

Luke diverts their course with a smooth hand, heart racing, and threads the ship through the Needle as neatly as when he's helping Aunt Beru darn a tear. Fifty-six seconds. He yanks back on the controls the instant they're through, soaring up to escape the death trap at the end of the run. Luke grins with a cocky smile, dimmed a little as they jerk when the wingtips scrape hard against the mouth of the canyon wall.

Then they're up in the sky staring at a hard blue.

Biggs laughs, and it's more relieved than anything else. "We made it!" Funny. He's usually the mature one, smooth and in control, and here he sounds almost giddy. Luke's not any better, leveling out their flight with his heart in his mouth, elated at making the run and horrified at what he's going to find when he lands.

One minute ten seconds from when he launched, he sets down the skyhopper, a light sheen of sweat covering his body.

"Not bad," Biggs says.

Offended, Luke shoots back, "Not bad? Did you even see that? Threaded the Needle like it was nothing."

"You blew the pull-out."

"It was a little scrape." He opens his mouth to defend his flying skills when he sees the amused sparkle and knows he's being teased. A moment later, a strong hand grabs the back of his head and pulls him forward. Luke's expecting a friendly head bump. Instead, Biggs presses his mouth against Luke's, wide open and warm and ready.

It's been a minute thirty, and the whole world has just changed.

Kissing is not something Luke has had any practice with. He's positive he's messing it up big time now, what with the squeezed-off whine he's making in the back of his throat, and the complete lack of idea what to do with his teeth. Biggs does a thing with his jaw, moving them closer, his tongue just dabbing against Luke's and shooting a hot spark of desire right through Luke's belly and down into his groin. He's got some practice there, if only with the aid of his imagination and his own hand.

He wants to shoot out hundreds of questions now. Has Biggs kissed a lot of people? Has he wanted to kiss Luke for a long time? Where does this go? Where do they go? When he goes off to the Academy, and Luke's stuck here, how are they ever going to manage this again?

Luke's heart is still racing from the flight, is racing more from the feel of a warm hand against his neck, stroking the line of Luke's pulse. Luke doesn't know what to do with his own hands, and settles for grabbing the neck of his friend's shirt and pulling him closer. He's greeted with another smile around the kiss.

Biggs pulls away, only far enough to speak. "Impatient?"

"I don't want you leaving just yet."

It was meant to be a tease but he can see the flicker of sorrow. "I'm shipping out tomorrow, no matter what."

There's the answer, beginning and end. His best friend is leaving. A quick, friendly kiss doesn't mean anything except goodbye.

"Right," Luke says, leaning back. "Wouldn't want to forget that." He unbuckles his harness. "I better go check on that damage." His face is red, and it's only going to get redder when he realizes he's not capable of standing or walking without being very obvious. Biggs doesn't have eyes for the tent Luke's got going in his trousers, though, only for Luke's face.

"Let me help," he says, unbuckling and following him outside.

"It's fine." Luke jumps down, and immediately sees the issue. He can get the T-16 home, sure, but that's at least two weeks' worth of repairs. Uncle Owen is going to kill him.

"We can patch this up easily enough."

"We can hide it, you mean." He'll have to get parts in. A cosmetic repair will get him out of trouble for a day or two and open up a lot more when he's found out. "I better just confess. It's safer."

Biggs offers a sympathetic nod. His father is just as strict as Luke's uncle and for the same reasons. Luke has visited his grandparents' graves enough times to understand why the rules exist. That doesn't make his punishment any easier when he's chosen not to follow them again. He'll be grounded and he'll be handed so many chores he won't have time to wish he was with his friends.

His best friend won't be there anyway.

Together, they go over the body of the T-16 to look for more damage. Nothing else is visible. "That's lucky," Luke says, not feeling lucky. His joy at finally threading the Needle has melted away. It was just a dumb stunt, his uncle will tell him. Luke can want to be a hotshot pilot all he wants but the real world won't care if he can dip and soar through a ravine, only if he can get his crop in on time.

"Chin up," Biggs tells him, reading the melancholy sinking in. "You did great today. In a couple more seasons, you'll be old enough to go off to the Academy, and you'll show everyone what I already know. You're the best."

The compliment is enough to plaster a smile back on Luke's face. "Thanks."

Biggs looks over his shoulder, back towards home and responsibility, and the place where they'll have to say good-bye. There's a swift sorrow in his eyes, and a lot of regret. "I leave first thing in the morning. I won't have a chance to come by to see you tomorrow."

"I figured."

He closes his eyes. "I know we have to get the T-16 back to your homestead. But we don't have to be back until sunset, right?"

That's an hour and a half away. Even damaged, the skyhopper can have them back in about six minutes. "Right. I don't think we should try running the canyon again, though."

"I wasn't thinking about that." He tugs on Luke's sleeve, pulling him into the shade provided by the ship. It's cooler here, almost pleasant in contrast to the canyon's heat. He's less sudden this time, more obvious as he touches Luke's chin, bringing him close for another kiss. They're close here, not bound by the harnesses this time. On impulse, Luke's hands find his hips, pulling their bodies together as his lips part. Biggs is hungry this time, pushing back against him, shoving him with some care up against the side of the skyhopper, not breaking the kiss until Luke pulls away to suck in a break of air.

"Maybe we can stay out a while," Biggs says, pressing each word against Luke's cheek and down his jaw.

The embarrassing growth inside his pants is back, and Luke can't help but rub closer to Biggs. He feels the same hardness in his friend's crotch. Luke groans, pressing his face into Biggs's shoulder. They can stay out. Luke's in trouble anyway. He may as well break curfew while he's at it.

There's a warm hand on his neck, and another sliding into his shirt. As Luke leans up for another kiss, he stops worrying.


End file.
